Riding-saddletree.



I C. NICKEL.

RIDING SADD'LE TREE.

APPLICATION r1121) MAR.6,1915.

Patented Jan. 16,1917.

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. WITNiSiW UNETE $1 A CHRISTOPHER IUICKEL, OF DENVER, COLC'RADO.

RIDING- SADDLETREE.

Application filed March 6, 1915.

Z '0 all to hom it may concern Be it known that I, Cnnis'rornnr. NICKEL, a citizen of the United States, residing in. the city and county of Denver and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Riding-Saddletrees; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appcrtains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in riding saddle trees.

Ordinarily these trees, as now constructed, are in the main built up from expensive wood, such as white pine, etc, in five parts. consisting of a pair of side bars, a cantle joining the rear ends of said bars, a pommel body connecting the front ends of said bars, and a ponnnel horn, the whole when assembled and secured together, being first covered with rawhide before applying the usual leather cover. Not only is the wood getting more expensive daily, but it requires a good deal. of time and labor in shaping and I finishing up the same before assembling and applying the rawhide covering, and even though in some instances the horn may be made of malleable iron, the same gets rusty from exposure. Also if any of the parts become fractured r broken, it is practically impossible to repair them, and the saddle falls into disuse, at a substantial loss. Furthermore, the saddle tree is much heavier and more cumbersome to construct than is desired, and for a long time there has been a desire and an unsuccessful effort made to lighten the weight of the saddle tree, increase its efficiency, durability and strength, cheapen the cost of labor and material in its manufacture, avoid the necessity of first applying a rawhide covering, and provide such a saddle tree that can readily be repaired, if fractured or broken, and at the same time be substantially as efi ective and finished as when new.

it is the object of the present invention to overcome all of these disadvantages in their entirety, by a simple means and in a single operation, and in the accomplishment of this object, I preferably employ a light, tough, rustless, and durable metal, such as aluminum, either with or without an alloy, or any other similar suitable metal, that experimentation or future discovery may develop, and when the metal is in a molten state, at a Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J an. 16, 1917.

Serial No. 12,584.

single pouring or casting operation, forming the saddle tree into an integral whole, upon the cooling of the molten metal mass, including the side bars, cantle, pommel body, and pommelhorn, a feature that heretofore, to my knowledge, has never been accomplished, and whereby there are no assembling of parts, the whole saddle tree is sev eral pounds lighter, it is readily finished or polished off smoothly and may simply be covered with leather, without the initial use of the rawhide covering, and should it become cracked or broken, a rare possibility, it can readily be soldered or fused. Besides, while tough and durable, the sides of the tree can he hammered or bent to shape them to the exact contour desired, and retain that shape indefinitely, unlike the wooden tree, the side bars of which have to be carefully and exactly hollowed out and finished off to insure a comfortable fit, in which operation, if an error should be made, it cannot be remedied without building up with leather orother inserted matter.

Having thus made a general statement of the object and advantages of the invention, for a more detailed disclosure reference is had to the accompanying drawings, illustrating a practical embodiment of the same, in which drawings, like characters designate like parts in the several views, and in which Figure 1, isa view, in side elevation, of the saddle tree; Fig. 2, a longitudinal section, on the line 2-2 of Fig. 8; Fig. 3, a front View, the left hand side being shown in elevation and the right hand side in section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4. a cross sectional View on the line 44 of F i 1; and Fig. 5, a bottom plan view.

Referring now particularly to the several parts and the special. feature of construction embodying the invention, as illustrated by the drawings, 1 designates one side bar of the saddle tree and 2 the other side bar thereof, of suitably curved contour, having narrower central portion and curved flaring front and rear portions to provide a comfortable fit to the back of the animal, the front portions terminating in the pro jections 3 and 4, extending slightly beyond the pommel, and the rear portions having the projections 5 and 6 extending behind the cantle. The two side bars are separated or spaced apart for their entire lengths as indicated at 7, the numeral 8 representing the lower edge of the cantle, where it spans the space 7. y

9 designates the cantle, integrally joined, in casting at a single operation, of pouring, to the side bars 1 and 2, as indicated at 10.

11 designates the pommel body portion also integrally joined, in casting by the aforesaid single pouring operation, to the side bars, as represented at 12. This pommel body portion is cast hollow, as shown at 13, and has narrow surrounding front and rear walls 01' flanges l4: and 15, aroviding front and rear openings 16 and 17, if desired to insure lightness without losing strength, the front and rear walls providing arched trussing means for the peripheral Wall 11. To further insure lightness, the peripheral wall 11 may be provided with a series of apertures, as shown at 18.

19 designates the horn of the ponnnel, and, as illustrated most clearly at 20 in Figs. 2 and 3, it will be observed that the horn is preferably solid and is also formed integrally with the ponnnel in casting by the aforesaid single pouring operation.

The apertures :21 are merely for the sad dle straps and bands.

In View of the foregoing statement of advantages, it is believed that further description may not be necessary, still it might be again reiterated, as an important factor, that I do not claim a saddle tree composed of metal parts; 'nor one composed of comminuted wood, mixed in a liquid state with a coloring matter, a waterproofing agent, and a binding agent, the whole being capable of induration, and which when formed over a metal frame and partially made solid by the liquid being drained off, is finally baked hard by an intense heat, an apparent tedious and lengthy process; nor do I claim a saddle tree merely formed or shaped up from a sheet of light metal, as I am aware that all three of said methods have heretofore existed. They do not, however, accomplish the essence of my invention, for all three of said methods require-a personal manual manipulation in actually shaping the saddle tree, whereas my invention simply consists in making a light metal saddle tree as an integral whole from molten metal cast in a single operation of pouring.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is:

1. As an article of manufacture, a saddle tree, including a base, and an upwardly disposed hollow pommel member, consisting of a peripheral wall and spacedarched supporting walls, said elements being molded as an integrally formed whole, by the process of foundin from a suitable molten metal substantially as described, whereby there results a finished saddle tree of inseparable parts, and without further substantial manipulation, substantially as described. I

As an article of manufacture, a saddle t 'ee, including a base, a cantle element, a hollow poinmel member, consisting of a peripheral wall andspaced arched supymrting walls therefor, and a horn surmo'unting said ponnnel member, said elements being molded as an integrally formed whole, by the process of founding, from. suitable molten metal substance having the properties of lightness and toughness "when set, whereby, upon the cooling of the'said metal substance, there results a finished saddle tree of inseparable parts, and Without further substantial manipulation, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHRISTOPHER NICKEL.

W'itnesses TERESA MOGILLIOUDDY, J. S. GIUs'rA.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents Washington. D. C. 

